The Dutch Railways (NS) also suffered greatly from the corona crisis in 2021. Due to the pandemic and the measures to prevent the spread of the virus, 48 percent fewer people traveled by train in the past year than before the corona outbreak.
The revenue from passenger traffic was therefore 1.1 billion euros lower than before corona, the railway company announced when the annual figures were published.
NS received government support, which meant that the loss could be limited. The company wants financial support from the government again this year.
Travel advice
Until May last year, the urgent advice was to use public transport only for essential journeys. Relaxations were announced in June, allowing more people to travel by train. After the summer, the flow of travelers increased further after the reopening of education and relaxation of the home working policy.
From October, the passenger figures showed a decrease again, due to the advice to work from home as much as possible.
The timetable was left virtually intact at the request of the government. The NS received 925 million euros in availability compensation for this, so that the operating loss was limited to 49 million euros.
It is the second consecutive year that NS has suffered losses due to the corona crisis. The company not only wants government support again, but is also working on a cost-saving program that will include jobs in management.
climate
According to president-director Marjan Rintel, Dutch Railways have another difficult year ahead of them. She is more positive about the longer term. The housing shortage in the Netherlands must be solved, and this also includes infrastructure for sustainable mobility. Rintel is convinced that the train is indispensable to achieve the government’s climate targets.
“Every traveler who opts for the train instead of the car immediately prevents CO2 emissions and contributes directly to the climate. Our commitment after the pandemic is therefore: more passengers on the train than before the crisis,” according to the president director.
Rintel also argues in favor of keeping the train attractive for passengers. “That is why it would also be good to abolish VAT on train tickets. The bill for the pandemic should not end up with the traveler.”
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